Syria - Count the cost

Posted
Thursday, September 5, 2013 1:00 pm

To the Editor:

The president and Congress will make the decisions when it comes to Syria. They and military leadership have far more information than I. However, we will not go into Syria, throw our rocks and run back home unscathed. The scathing may occur immediately, or weeks or months later.

How many Americans will die if we intervene in Syria? I do not want to lose one American over a civil war that’s been going on for thousands of years. We will never solve the hatred between the Muslims in the Middle East.

Since when has Al-Qaeda become our friends? Are we now able to trust Al-Qaeda? Are we supposed to bomb Assad and then in turn start loading Al-Qaeda down with weapons that they in turn can use against us? How do we know who used weapons of mass destruction? Could Al-Qaeda have used such weapons against Syrians in hopes of invoking a response from the United States to aid them in their fight?

What about Iraq? Iraq was going to be fast and efficient. But over 4,500 of our American troops were killed and another 100,000 were seriously injured in combat, with many of them losing limbs. We spent a total of $6 trillion on Iraq, while almost 20 percent of our own people live in poverty.

War is never quick, easy and cheap. War takes us further than we want to go. Makes us pay more than we want to pay and keeps us longer than we want to stay. What makes us think we can pound Syria for only a few days and accomplish anything? Previous history warns us that it could end up being a long and bitter engagement.

What happens if Russia, Iran, North Korea and China decide to get into the act? What would World War III look like? Most likely it would forever change the planet as we know and enjoy it today.

I do not want any innocent life to suffer at the hands of an evil dictator. Assad should be stopped. However, it’s imperative that our Congress and president assess how far we can go, how much we are able to pay and how long we can really stay.

If we believe we can get by with firing our missiles and simply walking away, we have lost all sense of reality.

Glenn Mollette

Newburgh, Indiana

Glenn Mollette is a columnist and speaker. He is the author of “American Issues” and nine other books. Find his books at BarnesandNoble.com.